


Taking a Risk

by TheresAKayla



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fighting (slightly), First Impressions, Hurt/Comfort, I honestly don't know what else to tag, Kisses, M/M, Michael's a bad boi but he falls in love with some p sweet guys, Multi, Past Abuse, Slight mention of underage drinking, Well more like it was inspired by, bad past, lots of fucks, slightly based off Good Will Hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 18:17:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7474767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheresAKayla/pseuds/TheresAKayla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael was 19 years old, fresh out of beer, and had no idea what he was still doing in Jersey. He was still there though, too broke to afford a plane ticket to get him the fuck out of here, too scared to go anywhere else but home to his sad fucking life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting Michael

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this after watching Good Will Hunting for the first time, a long time ago. I figured after sitting in my docs for 6 months, I should probably post it. Enjoy :)

Michael hated this fucking town. He hated working in a dumb college building with stupid fucking rich kids who were throwing their fucking dumb parents money away. He hated that he was jealous of those rich assholes. He hated being a janitor in said college building, and working way too late. He hated how little money he got working there. He hated that he had to work side jobs doing construction for his uncle to even get by. And he hated the shitty one bedroom one bath apartment he lived in, that he spent hours doing side jobs for his dumb fucking uncle to afford. 

Michael was 19 years old, fresh out of beer, and had no idea what he was still doing in Jersey. He was still there though, too broke to afford a plane ticket to get him the fuck out of here, too scared to go anywhere else but home to his sad fucking life. 

Michael took a swig of his beer, laughing along to some stupid blonde joke one of the boys at the bar cracked. They weren’t anyone that Michael hung out with regularly, just some punk kids who showed up at the bar about the same time Michael did. They snuck in too, with their fake ID’s. The kids weren’t fooling anyone. Sometimes they’d go out together, bang up someone. Jack and Jared were brothers, then there was Mason, who was just some cousin of theirs. He was funny; Michael probably liked him the most, if he had to choose a favourite. He had a nice ass, what could he say? 

“Michael, you down for the town tonight, kid?” Jack smirked at him. Michael finished off his beer and nodded once before standing and grabbing his jacket. He reached for his wallet, but Mason had thrown a few dollars on the counter, which was more than the bartender usually got out of the boys, so he just gave them all a glare instead of threatening to beat the shit out of them tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

The car ride was shitty, as per usual. Jared drove like a fucking lunatic, and people were always honking at them. Michael didn’t know any other way to travel. “Hey, hey, hey! Is that fucking Martin? He’s outta jail now? He fuckin’ owes me something-- around two hundred dollars!” Mason was talking (yelling), and before Michael knew, it they were pulling over. 

They all got out, Michael readying himself up, because he knew he was about to beat the shit out of this fucking Martin kid if things didn’t go right. “Martin, hey!” Mason grinned at him, catching the boy's attention, drawing out his name. The kid had three others with him, putting them at an even four. It’d be a fair fight, at least. “You got my money, kid? Said you’d call t’moment you got out of jail!” Mason laughed.

Martin looked like he wasn’t about to have any of this shit. Michael watched as the two stood off for a moment, before walking up slowly, “Hey asshole,” He grabbed the front of the strangers shirt, gripping it tightly with his left hand, punching him with his right. The fighting broke out instantly, and Michael was on top of this asshole.

He kept punching and punching, thinking about how much he fucking hated this circle. He was going to go to jail if he got into another fight, he could remember his probation officer saying. Well fuck, at least he wouldn’t have to pay for food, right? 

“Cops! Michael! Cops are here, get off,” He didn’t listen, just kept punching. The other kid had gotten a few good swings in. Everyone else was gone. Michael would probably have a split lip, black eye, a few bruises afterwards. He wasn’t too worried about it.

He got pulled off of Martin, and he spit on him. “Fuckin’ pay up next time, asshole.” He smirked, getting pushed against the fence by the two police officers. He furrowed his brows angrily, shoving them back, and the next thing he knew he was on the ground, his face being crushed into the asphalt. 

 

When he got to jail, it was rough. He’d been through it before, so he didn’t care, but he hated the feeling of jail. The stares. The smell. The way the clothing fucking looked. He hated it. Didn’t show off his ass, his best feature, in his opinion. It reminded him why the fuck he _wasn’t_ in jail before. Why he avoided it. He nodded his head at one of the kids in there, remembering him from the time before. After a while, he got his call.

He called his uncle, who was really pissed off and called his PO. He got bailed out, which was nice. He walked out with a grin, tapping Phil’s shoulder with his hand, “Thanks, Phil. Mind driving me home?” He asked, and his PO sighed. 

“Michael, I don’t know how the fuck you keep getting into this shit, but it’s got to stop. You’re coming to my house for the night. Your uncle sounded like he was about to kill you. I doubt you want to be somewhere he can find you,” Phil pushed Michael towards the car, but there was some guy in the passenger seat. Michael didn’t like the looks of him. He was staring at Michael like he was a fucking puppy. Actually, the more Michael stared, the more he decided, he did like the looks of him.

“Who the fuck is this?” He asked from the back seat, crossing his arms, guarded instantly. 

“Drop the tough kid act. You just _had_ to get in trouble while I had someone visiting, huh?” Phil mumbled, and Michael could tell he was peeved. He didn’t let it get to him, but he wasn’t too happy about going to his house when he was pissed. 

“Give the kid a break, he’s probably had a rough night,” The man’s voice wasn’t what Michael expected. He definitely wasn’t from Jersey, that was for damn sure. The man turned in his seat, and Michael didn’t want to stare, but it was hard not to because fuck, was this man attractive or what.

“Not from around here?” Michael raised an eyebrow.

“No, actually. I grew up in Texas and I’m living in Austin. Running this big production company called Rooster Teeth. Have you heard of it?” The man asked.

Michael shook his head in response, “Nope.”

“Surprising. We’re pretty big,” He smiled.

“Not that big if I don’t know about it.” Michael smirked, which made the stranger laugh. 

“That’s true, kid. I’m Burnie Burns, nice to meet you.” Burnie reached a hand back and Michael shook it, nodding at him.

“Michael Jones.” 

When they pulled up to Phil’s house, Michael felt a little bad. “Listen, I can just walk my sorry ass home, you don’t need to offer me your couch for the night.” 

Phil scoffed, “Shut the fuck up and take something nice for once in your life, Michael. You’re not getting my couch, you’re getting the guest bedroom. I don’t mind. You probably need to eat something other than fast food and Taylor Ham.” Michael’s stomach hurt at the thought of real, cooked food. 

“Fucking Taylor Ham is the best and you can’t tell me otherwise. You’re too good to me, dude. Bailing me out of jail, paying the fine, the whole bit.” Michael grinned.

Phil narrowed his eyes, “I’m not paying the fine, Michael. You are. You also need to do community service and you need to go to the court date on Monday. I don’t think you’re going to be able to talk your way out of this one either, kid, unless I can convince the court that you’re being put into someone's custody who I know will keep you out of trouble. And your uncle is not going to be an option. I can’t do much for you this time.” 

Michael felt a small moment of panic, but he just shrugged it off. “I’ll find a way out. Don’t lay me on someone though, I’m not going to be doing them any good. Some punk from South Jersey. As if you could _find_ someone.” Michael laughed dryly, but Phil and him both knew it was true. Michael was going to jail. “Thanks for letting me crash,” He said, jogging up the stairs and taking off his shoes inside.

Burnie was confused. “He seems like a good enough kid. Funny. Why don’t you think anyone would take him?” He asked Phil as they walked up.

“He’s got a record that’s long enough for any good person not to take a second look at. He’s a little fucked, but maybe jail’ll be good. Sometimes it straightens people out a bit.” Phil shrugged. “Listen, I care a lot for the kid. I wish I could take him in, but I just can’t. My wife would kill me.” 

Burnie sighed. After a moment of silence, he said, “Hey, do you think they’ll allow him to be out of state?” 

Phil stopped on the porched and looked at Burnie with a bit of concern, “You’re not actually considering taking this kid to Austin? Burnie, where’s he going to even stay? He probably couldn’t find a job, and he’s never been off of southside his entire life. His whole background is fucked, Burnie. It’s just not a good idea.”

“I’m not saying it’s a good idea. I just asked if you think they’ll let him stay under my care.” Burnie was going to take the kid in, Phil couldn’t convince him otherwise.

Phil sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking at Burnie. “It’s a long shot, but I’ll see what I can do. Alright?” 

Burnie nodded, “Alright. I know you’ve only got a week. I’ll come back out if I need to, but we should try and get him down there by the end of my visit. I’ve got those meetings so I’ll be out of your hair, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be thinking about it every goddamn second.” 

“Burnie, trust me, I care about this kid more than you think. I’ll try the best I can.” And it was settled.

Michael stood up from the sofa when they walked inside, “Fucking finally, I’m sitting here starving. Phil, you got any beers?” Michael said, a shit eating grin across his lips.

Phil rolled his eyes, “Because as your PO, I should totally be giving you beers, especially since you’re underage.” He said sarcastically, walking into the kitchen. 

Phil’s wife was home, “Oh hey Michael!” She yelled from the kitchen.

“Hey! I don’t get to see you anymore. Fucking Phil doesn’t ever bring you down for visits!” Michael yelled back, grinning and looking at Burnie, looking away quickly. The man made him uncomfortable, attractive or not.

 

He left in the morning, after a hot meal. He got some coffee, then went to work. He worked at the dumb fucking university, mopping and picking up after the sloppy rich kids. Then he went home. He could have gone and did some construction work, but his uncle was already blowing up his phone. 

His uncle ended up stopping by the house that night. Michael ended up with a few more bruises. When he saw his PO the next day, he didn’t even question it. 

When Monday eventually rolled around, the judge was not having any of Michael’s shit. “You put your hands on a police officer.” It wasn’t looking good for Michael. He couldn’t sweet talk himself out of this one, that was for sure. He sat in cuffs while his PO talked to the judge about his time, and they talked everything over. As long as there was weekly checkups, Michael got a job that he went to every day with weekly reports from his boss that he was there, he did community service hours and went back down to Jersey every four months to meet up and discuss what had been going on, and he stayed out of trouble, then he’d be all good to go. They even had all of Burnie’s information. Michael was going to be taken to Austin, whether he wanted to or not.

When Michael was taken out of the handcuffs, he felt a big sigh of relief leave him. “Fuck, what do I have to do?” He asked his PO, getting a glare from the man who let him out. 

“Well, Michael,” Phil paused as they walked out of the building, letting him into his car. Michael sat in the passenger seat, relaxing. He was fucking relieved he wasn’t in jail right now. “How do you feel about Austin?”

Michael blinked, a little confused, “Like where Burnie said he’s from? I don’t know, I’ve never fucking been there. I’m sure it’s great or whatever, probably hot as fuck. Why?” 

Phil sighed, looking over at the kid for a second, “Well, Burnie has agreed to look after you, basically. He’ll send me emails every weekend and you’ll have to get a job within the next month down there and your boss’ll have to tell me you’re going every day. You can’t get in trouble either, and every once in awhile you’ll have to fly back up to talk to me. You’ll have to do community service too.” 

Michael’s head was spinning. “And if I don’t want to go to Austin?”

“Then you stay here and go to jail. Your choice.” 

Michael went home and thought about it. There wasn’t any other option. He didn’t want to stay in New Jersey for the rest of his fucking life. He hated this life. He hated living here. He would get to quit his dumb fucking janitor job and tell his boss to go fuck himself. 

That thought alone was enough to convince Michael that is was worth moving so far away. He packed his shit and left it at Phil’s, only a backpack worth of stuff. He had a few dollars on him too, which he gave to Phil. 

 

“That’s all he has?” Burnie asked his friend with a raised brow. He just got a short nod in response. 

“He told me to give you this too,” Phil handed over the couple of dollars. “Said he’d pay you back eventually, but here’s a start.” 

There was a silence as Burnie realized how fucked this kid was. This was all he had? Three dollars and a few pennies? “Where’s he at now?” Burnie asked.

“Quitting his job.”

“He had a job?” 

“He had two. How do you think he got those few dollars? Begging for cash? He had his own apartment too. We can swing by, but it’s on the rough side of town and it’s not too pretty. He’ll probably stay there for the last few nights, but he’ll be here before you guys have to get on the plane.” 

“Oh,” was Burnie’s only response. He kind of wanted the kid to stay with him, so that he could get to know him better. 

Phil seemed to already know. “I mean, I can ask if he wants to stay over here, but the kid’s always worried about being a bother, so I doubt he’s going to want to stay here. Maybe the night before you leave.” 

 

Michael quit with ease, and also got hit by the guy with ease. He gave Michael a bloody nose because Michael took his paycheck and told him that he was a fucking horrible boss and told him he’d see him in Hell. Michael got his few hundred dollars though. He was pretty content. He didn’t fight back in fear of getting in trouble, but that guy would have been fucking toast. 

He did end up staying in his shitty apartment for the next few days, but the last night he went and showered at Phil’s and changed his clothes. Michael swallowed, “Thanks, by the way,” he told Burnie during dinner. The conversation fell for a moment, but it picked up quickly after Burnie said it was no problem.

They ended up staying the night in the same room. “Hey, kid,” Burnie smiled at him. Michael looked at him hesitantly, “I’m glad you agreed to come with me. I know you didn’t really have a choice, but I think you’re going to have a good time. I think I’m going to have you stay with Geoff, because he’s got an extra room. Any idea where you want to work?” Burnie was coming at Michael fast.

“I’m not too sure yet. I’ll figure something out.” Michael replied, fiddling with his fingers a little bit. 

“Do you like video games?” 

“Well… I mean, yeah, who doesn’t? I haven’t gotten tons of chances to play them, but they’re fucking fun.” Michael replied. _What fucking idiot doesn’t like video games?_

“If you can clean yourself up a bit and show us what you have to offer, we might be able to give you a job at our company. You’d have to go in for an interview and everything, but I’m sure you have a solid chance. You would get to play games for a living, in the Achievement Hunter office.” Burnie said. It was more than that of course, but he wanted to make it sound appealing. 

“Are you fucking serious? You get payed to play games?” Michael asked in disbelief. 

“Eh, kind of. There’s more too it, but that’s the gist. There’s lots of different areas you could work in, but you’d fit in with those guys the most.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m not lying to you. We really do, I’ll show you some of our stuff when we get to Austin tomorrow. Or you can watch some videos on the plane ride--” 

Michael cut him off, “Oh, fuck no. I did not agree to a plane ride. No, no, no thanks. I know gravity fucking works. I don’t trust those big metal fucking tubes.” Michael had been trying not to be nervous about leaving here. It was the one place he knew he was fucking safe. He knew all the exits and knew what the good diners were. He had to tell Mason goodbye last night, and the boy fucking gave Michael his number and told him if he ever needed anything to call. He’d fucking put his life on the line for Michael if he asked, and that was more than his real family ever offered him.

“It’s going to be okay. It’s too late to change our minds and drive. You’ll be fine.” Burnie said, laughing. “Goddamn,” He shook his head.

“What? Don’t fucking laugh at me.” Michael pouted, shoving the others shoulder. 

“I’m not. Just for a kid who’s not afraid to push a fucking cop, it’s kind of funny that you’re scared of a plane when the likelihood of you crashing on a plane is less than you getting bit by a shark.”

“Sharks are easy. Hit them in the nose and wham, they’re fucking off of you.” Michael grinned. Burnie laughed, shaking his head. “It’s fucking true! One day, you’ll be like, “Fuck, Michael, you really saved my life. I punched a shark in the fucking nose!” And you’ll have me to thank.” He couldn’t help but laugh with Burnie, grinning and sitting next to him on the bed.

“Burnie?” He asked softly, getting his attention. “Listen man, I know I’m not the fucking best, but I’m going to try really hard. I don’t want to have to sit in jail here. I couldn’t handle jail. I’d become someone’s bitch.” He mumbled, smiling and laughing softly. 

“Michael, don’t mention it. It’s no big deal at all. I have faith in you, kid.” Burnie wrapped his arms around his shoulders, but Michael flinched away from his touch and stood up. 

“I think we should probably go to sleep.” Michael told him, running a hand through his hair. He laid down on the ground, curling up with a blanket. “You really think I can do it?” He asked Burnie before he fell asleep.

Burnie was silent for a second. “Yeah, Michael,” He took a breath, “I really think you can do it.”

Burnie saying that to him was probably one of the best things he’d heard in his whole life. There usually wasn’t anyone rooting for Michael, but here was Burnie, this stranger he barely knew, rooting for this broken Jersey kid who had a bad mouth and a nasty record.

It was better than Michael could even imagine.


	2. A Place to Call "Their House"

The plane ride had Michael almost in tears. He was so fucking terrified to get onto that plane. Burnie didn’t give him the window seat, thank Christ, but he seriously almost shit his pants. “Hey, at least your first plane experience is flying first class. It’s all downhill for the rest of your experiences on airplanes.” Burnie laughed, but Michael’s mouth didn’t even turn upward. He just held onto the little armrests and looked forward.

When the plane took off, Michael grabbed Burnie’s wrist, “If I die, don’t let my Uncle take my money.” He muttered quietly, taking deep breaths.

“What money?” He asked, a small smirk on his lips.

Michael glared at him, “Not the fucking point.” There was no fire to it though. He knew the older male was joking.

Halfway through the trip, when the plane started hitting some turbulence, Burnie fucked with the kid. “Oh, God.” He started. 

If Michael was dozing off, he wasn’t now. “Fuck do you mean ‘Oh, God’?”

“I don’t think the plane’s supposed to shake like this.” Michael’s eyes were as wide as the fucking moon. _This was it. I’m going to fucking die._

“Should we get the pilot? Or that fucking lady? Hey, lad-” He started to yell, but Burnie covered his mouth, laughing. 

“Calm down, kid, I’m just fucking with you,” He laughed.

Michael looked like he was going to kill Burnie. “You’re lucky I’m on fucking probation, because I would fucking end you if I wasn’t.” He growled, crossing his arms and looking away, his heart beating quick. 

“No you wouldn’t. You fucking love me,” Burnie grinned.

“You’re an asshole.”

“Yeah well, you like asshole.” 

_True_ , Michael thought, closing his eyes. “I’m fucking going to sleep. Don’t wake me up. I might break your fucking nose.”

Burnie did wake Michael up when they landed, and he swore there wasn’t a cuter site then this kid when he first woke up. He was like a little boy. He was all cuddly when he was asleep too. He leaned against Burnie while they waited for their luggage in baggage claim, his eyes droopy.

“It’s fucking hot.” Was the only thing he said. His first words in Austin.

Burnie laughed and led him to the car, where Geoff was waiting. “Oh fuck,” Burnie said when he saw Geoff’s car. 

Michael was pretty much dying in his hoodie. “What?”

“I uh,” Burnie ran a hand through his hair and grinned, “I didn’t tell Geoff.” 

Michael panicked for a moment, but he really couldn’t because he was being pushed into the backseat of Geoff’s car. “Uh, hi.” Geoff greeted, giving Michael a smile.

Michael nodded at him, crossing his arms. 

“Burnie, who’s this?” Geoff asked. 

Burnie looked over at Geoff, “He’s your guys’ new roommate, for the time being.” He grinned, looking at Geoff hopefully.

Geoff looked into the back at the kid, then back at Burnie, “Uh…” He started, but Burnie quickly started up.

“Listen, how about we get Michael settled in and we can talk about it when one of the boys is showing him around.” 

Geoff nodded shortly, a little confused, a little worried. Where was he going to stay? Well they did have three extra rooms in their house. How the fuck was he going to explain their relationships though? 

When they pulled up to Geoff’s house, after a very silent drive, Michael’s eyes were wide. “Holy shit, you _live_ here?” He asked Geoff, looking at him. 

Geoff grinned, “Me and four others. Plus you makes a six. We have four bedrooms and three bathrooms. You can have the one downstairs. It’s the biggest guest room.” Michael wondered if he was given the bedroom on the bottom because theirs was on the top. Maybe they’d just pretend Michael wasn’t there.

“I won’t be here long. Just until I get an apartment, I promise.” He told Geoff, a little intimidated. He could probably take Michael, probably beat the shit out of him. And with four other boys behind him? Michael felt little. “I’ll be out of your hair in a few days, I promise.” He said quietly, crossing his arms and grabbing his backpack. 

Burnie could feel the change in the air. Michael had kind of started to open up, well not really, but he’d definitely gotten a little comfortable with the idea of Burnie being around him. But he was closed off again, cold.

"Geoff!” _Fuck, he was loud._ The stranger ran up and grinned at Geoff, kissing him openly in front of the pair. Michael wondered how they could feel so comfortable in front of strangers. How did they know if Michael was homophobic or not? Michael felt a little jealous, so he looked away from the scene. “Who’s this, Geoff?” The British kid asked. 

“Uh… Michael?” Geoff asked, and Michael nodded.

“Michael.” He repeated, but it came out more as Mi-choo. Michael furrowed his brows.

“Fuck, you have a big nose,” He mumbled, which made Geoff and Burnie laugh loudly. The boy squacked. 

“Geoff! Why do you always bring home the assholes?” He pouted.

“You are what you eat,” Michael grinned. 

The Brit didn’t know how to respond, so he just gaped at the boy.

“So, Michael, this is Gavin,” Geoff introduced, and Michael eyed up Gavin hesitantly. He could probably take him. He was tiny. Michael could probably club him down easily one on one. He might just be a little slippery since he was so thin.

“He’ll be showing you around. Michael’s going to be staying for um, a few days, I guess,” Geoff grumbled, and Michael’s stomach tightened a little nervously. He did not sound happy about Michael staying. 

“Oh. Alright! Come on,” Gavin pulled his hand and Michael pulled away fast, making his hand into a fist. He didn’t pay attention to the pouty look the other gave him, just walking behind him silently. 

“So, why did you think bringing some fucking Jersey kid, to stay at my house, was a good idea?” Geoff asked, crossing his arms and looking at Burnie.

Burnie smiled a little, “Well, I mean, he couldn’t really not come with me. He would have uh, ended up in jail?” Burnie tried to make it sound like it was casual, like everyone you brought home was someone who potentially was going to end up in jail.

“Jai- Burnie! I don’t know if you fucking realize, but I’ve got the boys living with me. Ryan and Jack can take care of themselves, but if he were to attack Ray or Gavin? No,” Geoff shook his head, “No fucking way. I’m not letting him stay here.” 

“Geoff, I’ll find him another place. You didn’t see his apartment. You didn’t see how bruised up he looked. He acts all tough, but he’s just a kid. Nobody’s ever been there for him. I told him I had faith in him and he looked at me like I’d told him he’d just won the lottery. You can’t tell me that you don’t think he needs someone. Even Phil said he’d take him in if he could, --” 

"--I’m _not_ Phil, and neither are you--”

“--His record is long, and he’s going to be better. He promised me.” Burnie tried to tell Geoff, but even as his features softened a little, he didn’t look like he believed him. Burnie sighed, “It’ll only be for a few days, Geoff.” 

He nodded, and Burnie smiled. “I’ll find him another place to live. We need to find him a job too, so I was thinking maybe he’d be good at AH?” 

Geoff looked like he was either going to explode, or just kill Burnie. “You can’t be serious. You’d hire him?” 

“I think that in a few weeks, if he works a normal job and goes to work every day and does his fucking hardest, then yeah, I think he’d have a shot.” 

Geoff squinted at Burnie, “If he hurts one of the boys, I’ll fucking kill him. Actually, if he even touched them in the wrong way, in the slightest-- even _looks_ at them the wrong way, I’ll kill him.” 

Burnie nodded, “I know, I know.” He prayed that for Michael’s sake, he’d get along with everyone.

 

Gavin’s tour of the house was less exciting than Michael expected. He really was more interested in looking around the house himself and seeing what his life could have been like if he’d had quality parents with good money and education. 

Gavin was showing him his hair gel of all things, blabbering on about him and the other four who lived here. There was pictures of them all together, kissing, holding hands, smiling. Michael didn’t know if he thought it was weird or if he was just jealous.

“So are you all together?” Michael asked, seemingly innocent, but he was really just wanting to know. He knew he’d get all butthurt, because he didn’t have anyone who even liked him enough to want to hold his hand. 

“Yeah, we are,” Michael flinched a little at the new, hard raspy voice from behind him. Geoff was in his face in a second, and even though Michael didn’t let it get to him, he did feel himself shrink back inside. “Is that a problem?” 

Michael shook his head, “Nope. I’m fine with gay people,” He replied easily, turning away. He looked at Gavin, who was grinning. _Hard not to be when you’re so flaming you’re about to fucking combust._

“Have you shown Michael the room he’s staying in?” Geoff made the silence in the room disperse. Michael was grateful.

"Yeah, he--” 

“It’s fancier than any hotel I’ve ever stayed in.” Michael cut in, running a hand through his hair. Geoff didn’t miss the way those curls bounced against his forehead. “Thanks for letting me stay, I know you’re probably not so keen to let a convict stay with your family.” Geoff chuckled.

“Kid, if it wasn’t for Burnie, your ass would be out on the street so quick it’d make your head spin.” Geoff said in a toneless voice, eyeing the boy up and down, a smile still easily on his lips. “Touch any of them, you’re going to be dead.”

Michael had the audacity to look Geoff right in the eyes, reach over, and poke Gavin in the chest lightly. “It’d be a pleasure if you killed me. I’m not scared of you,” Michael challenged, a small smirk on his face.

Geoff looked at Burnie, who was glaring at Michael, trying to send him silent signals to shut the fuck up. When Michael noticed, his stomach twisted. “Geoff, it’s okay. He’s just fucking with you.” Michael was fucking it up. 

“I’ll only sleep here. During the day I’ll be out of your hair. Just pretend like I’m not even here,” He told Geoff, then turned with his backpack and walked to the room that Gavin had showed him, closing the door behind him.

 

It was really hard not to want to run out when he saw Burnie getting picked up. It was hard for Michael not to run out and grab onto the other and tell him to please, please don’t leave him here because he was going to be killed.

Geoff was going to beat him for fucking with his boys. He felt so small. So fragile in the house. He was about ready to go raid the cabinets for pills and see what he could take. Steal whatever alcohol he could get his hands on.

 

When the rest of the boys came home, they were all smiles. After hearing who was staying with them, they were still a little cheery, but Ryan and Jack were both concerned. Geoff had taken a look at Michael’s case file. Burnie left it for him to look at, so he knew what he’d be dealing with. There were tons of things in there. Some minor robberies, some drug deals, a few fights. The last one was in there, with the cop altercation. Burnie’s name was in there plus everyone who was supposed to be looking out for Michael. Burnie said he’d be over tomorrow, but Geoff doubted it. The man was busy constantly, and he’d just gotten back from business. They’d talk at work.

What caught Geoff’s eye was the fact that Michael had been in the system before. He’d been in foster care when his parents were both on drugs and nobody else would take care of him. He had to be sent to multiple homes, each one didn’t work out. The first one Michael was beat, the next he was sexually assaulted by the 28 year old brother who was living there at the time. Home wasn’t better either, his dad had stabbed him once. There was tons of shit that Geoff assumed wasn’t in the file too. Like Michael’s abusive Uncle and all the other sad stuff that was piled on top of the kid.

Ryan and Jack were more understanding after that. They realized this kid had been through a lot, and Geoff felt like a douche bag. Ryan really had to hold Ray back from going into the kid's room. They all weren’t afraid of the kid doing anything, they just felt bad for him. They wanted to help.

“I say we just leave him alone for right now. Abusive past or not, he’s still fucking dangerous and he’s scared. Burnie said he’s never been away from Jersey before. I’m sure it’s all new to him,” Geoff shrugged.

Ryan stood, “I’ll get started on dinner then.” 

“Sounds like a plan, I’m starving,” Ray grinned.

“You’re always hungry.”

 

Michael felt like shit. It was hard having to sit in the room, nose pressed against the door while the food being cooked. That was Michael’s favourite smell. Cooked food. Way better than takeout, or fast food, or even clean clothes. He was smart enough to know he probably wouldn’t get fed by these guys. He had his pay check, at least. He could sneak out and grab something quick at a diner. The window in his room was close to the ground. They wouldn’t even notice he went out.

Unless they didn’t have any diners around. And nobody would give him beer. Phil had taken his fake ID. _George Clooney. Are you an idiot, Michael? You couldn’t even come up with a good name?_ He could remember the conversation like it was yesterday. Oh wait, it was. 

Also, if he left and got caught sneaking out, he’d probably be put on the first flight back to Jersey and be locked up, then he’d be someone’s bitch and he’d be getting a tattoo that said ‘Daddy’s Angel’ on his lower back, but the dumbass who decided he owned Michael would misspell it so it’d be ‘Daddy’s Angle.’ That’d be real fucking attractive. Phil would die, but he’d kill Michael first.

He jumped back when the door slammed straight into his fucking face, and he rubbed his forehead, “Fucking,” He was about to get angry, but he backed down quickly when he saw Geoff’s face. “Sorry, I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything.” Michael said, blushing slightly.

"Oh, uh… What were you doing?” Geoff raised an eyebrow.

Michael looked away, a little ashamed. “It just smelt nice. Sorry. I didn’t think anyone would be coming in here or anything.” 

Geoff gave him a weird look before laughing, shaking his head. “Alright, sorry about the concussion you just gave yourself, but if you want to come eat with us, we made you a plate. I didn’t know what you’d like so I just put everything on it.” He shrugged.

Michael frowned, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Well, I already did so it’d be a waste if you didn’t come eat it.”

Michael wasn’t one to be wasteful. He looked at Geoff and nodded, blushing when the other smiled at him, but not letting the other see. Was he still angry at Michael? He was probably just going to act like he wasn’t mad, then turn around and beat the shit out of him for not staying where he ‘belonged.’ 

He sat down where Geoff told him to, and he looked over the faces. Three new boys were there, two of which Michael couldn’t even try to think about taking, especially the guy with the beard. He would just have to squeeze Michael and he’d probably be dead. The guy next to him looked strong too. Were they all attractive?

As his eyes fell on the last boy, then yes, he decided, they were all fucking attractive. This last boy was a beauty, that was for sure. Michael could bend him over the table and eat him for dinner. He smirked at him slightly, and the blush on the boy's cheeks was the best thing he’d seen. When he looked at Geoff, the smirk was light, but there was anger building in the man’s eyes. It gave him a bad feeling. 

Michael averted his eyes, looking at his food, taking a bite. Everyone was so silent. “So, this is Michael, guys.” 

Michael swallowed, and met all of their eyes slowly, his own cold. He had to let them know he wasn’t going to welcome them in. They weren’t welcoming him in, after all. Gavin was the only one who had treated him like he was actually someone worth talking to. Geoff seemed to hate Michael, which he was okay with (well, not really, but he could deal).

“I’m Ryan, it’s nice to have you staying with us, Michael.” This was the muscular handsome guy. Ryan. He nodded at him, eyeing him for a moment before looking away.

“Ray,” The kid Michael had been eating out in his mind said, and Michael smiled at him, nodding before letting the smile roll off his lips slowly. 

“I’m Jack, it’s really nice to meet you. Feel free to make yourself at home, even if you are only staying for a few days.” Jack smiled at him, and Michael honestly felt like he was being genuine. Michael gave him a small, forced smile back. If Jack was going to try to be civil with the house-fuck-up for now, then Michael would be try to be civil back.

They all fell silent, but Ryan pulled together a conversation with Geoff, talking about work and all the things they needed to produce or edit or whatever. Michael didn’t pay attention, for the most part.

“You all work together too?” He asked Gavin quietly, but Gavin didn’t keep it quiet.

“Of course we all work together! Haven’t you heard of us?” Gavin asked with a grin.

Michael could feel all their eyes on him as he shook his head. “Nope, not once in my life until Burnie said something. I didn’t know you all worked together though. I thought it was just him and a few other guys.” Michael admitted.

“Nope, we’ve got tons of people who work at the office. You’ll have to come by and meet everyone one day,” Ryan smiled, but Geoff kicked him. Ryan shot him a look, and _oh fuck, Geoff was not getting sex tonight then._

“Hah, alright.” Michael didn’t think he’d be allowed in their office. “If it’s such a big, fancy place, aren’t you worried I’ll steal something? I mean, I have a record, after all.” The words were shot at Geoff. 

“Records don’t say anything about a person. My record says I’ve stolen something,” Ray chimed in before Geoff could respond. 

Michael nodded, narrowing his eyes at Geoff for a moment, “Probably aren’t the only one.” He said, a little offhandedly, taking another bite of his food.

“Huh, what’s that supposed to insinuate?” Geoff asked, raising his eyebrows.

Ryan and Jack shared looks with Ray and Gavin. _This wouldn’t be good._

“Nothing,” Michael shrugged, “But I mean, you didn’t get all of those tattoos with that all that money you get from your fancy fucking job is all I’m saying.” 

“Oh, yeah? Well I got this one by my bitch in jail. I cleaned the floor with his fucking teeth, and if you keep talking and acting like a cunt, I’ll do the same thing to you.” Geoff’s voice got lower when he was angry.

Michael hated when people tried to get the upperhand on him. He put his fork down and smirked, challenging Geoff by looking into his eyes, “I’d like to see you try, old man,” He spat.

“Alright, let’s not get all worked up,” Gavin tried, but Geoff stood up, which made him stop talking immediately. 

Geoff walked over to Michael, and Michael sat calm, but when Geoff started to get up in his face, he was about to fucking die. “You’re lucky I’m on fucking probation, because I’d fucking slaughter you.” Michael spat out, right in his face. 

“You have about ten seconds to get the fuck out of this room before I start punching you. If you hit me, I’ll send your ass back to Jersey.”

“That’s not your decision to make, now is it?” he mumbled, standing up and turning away. So much for dinner.

Michael fucking hated himself.

 

“Was that necessary?” Ryan asked, annoyance in his voice.Everyone was cleaning up. Nobody had mentioned what happened. Ray and Gavin had gone off to clean the dishes, then ran upstairs to go play some games to avoid talking about it. 

“What?” Geoff looked at Ryan then narrowed his eyes, “He was messing with me. He was trying to get a rise and he got one.”

“He was trying to point out that don’t trust him.” Jack stated.

“You’re mad too?” Geoff was annoyed. “And so what if I don’t trust him? I wouldn’t give that kid my shirt, let alone let him stay in my house if it was up to me.” Geoff said honestly. “I’m putting you guys in danger keeping him here. Did you see how he was looking at Ray? He looked like he wanted to eat him.” Geoff mumbled.

“Well yeah, Ray’s fucking cute. Nobody’s in danger. That kid is just scared. He doesn’t have a single person, Geoff, you know how that fucking feels. You can’t be a dick to him. Maybe if you actually tried to treat him like an actual person, he’d act kind. But you can’t be the bigger person, you have to be a little bitch.” Jack was angry.

Ryan stood up, walking upstairs. He grabbed his laptop and walked back, ignoring Geoff. He knocked on the door to Michael’s door.

Michael stood up quickly, opening the door. He hadn’t even been sitting on the bed. He didn’t want to touch anything in the room. There was a TV, but Michael wouldn’t dare. He ruined everything he touched, and he was already on Geoff’s bad side.

Ryan smiled at him and Michael moved out of the way, inviting him in silently. “You know, I can hear you guys from in here. The walls aren’t thick.” Michael laughed softly, and Ryan took a good look at the kid. He looked terrified. Scared to even be in the house. He just wanted to give the boy a hug.

“Michael, I am so sorry. Geoff’s being a real asshole,” Ryan yelled, so Geoff would hear. He could feel Geoff’s eyes rolling from Michael’s room. “But don’t take it personally, it’s not--”

“Don’t worry, Ryan,” Michael laughed softly. “To be honest, if I was someone else, I’d never let myself even walk into the door. I’m pretty shitty,” He shrugged.

“You’re not.” Ryan frowned. He sat down on the bed, “Here, I brought you my laptop. In case you wanted to watch our videos or netflix you could or play anything you want. Just do whatever. I thought you could look at some of our content though, see how you like it. Give us some feedback, get to know who we are. I have the website saved in my favourites. Everything is on there.” Ryan left the laptop on the bed when he stood. He turned before he left and looked at Michael. “Don’t worry about it,” He said before Michael could thank him. “It’s really no big deal at all. I don’t even care if you break it, so don’t worry about that either.” He closed the door on his way out.

 

Michael spent most of the night watching their videos, trying not to be too loud laughing. Geoff’s laughter was contagious. He really got to know their personalities, even though he didn’t know them all.

He figured he’d probably get along with Ray the most. 

The other half of the night, he looked up jobs in the area. He didn’t have any nice clothes, but he left at five with a few places written down on a piece of paper. He left the laptop on the counter, and cleaned the room. He left ten dollars too. 

 

Jack and Ryan were usually the first to wake up, but today it was Geoff. He rolled out of bed with a headache, and he walked downstairs and began some coffee before he even noticed the note.

_Thank you for letting me borrow your laptop. I didn’t download any porn this time, but next time I’ll make sure that it’s the first thing you see when you open it.  
I’m glad you guys have such a good job. I can tell from your videos you like each other a lot, which is good considering you’re all fucking together. (Literally).  
I’m going to be searching for jobs all day. I know this ten dollars doesn’t cover anything, but I hope it’s a start. I called Burnie and told him all the places I’d be. Tell Geoff I’ll try and stop for dinner so I don’t ruin it tonight.  
Sorry you have to keep such an asshole in your house. I think I saw a good box in the garage I could live in. Have a good day, Ryan, (And everyone else, even you, Geoff, but especially Ray ;) )_  
-Michael.

Despite how annoying the kid was, it made Geoff’s heart swell a little bit reading it. He left it there for Ryan to read, because it was obviously directed at him to find.

“Fuck,” He groaned, only halfway through his coffee. He walked to the guest bedroom quickly. He could have run off with some stuff, never to be seen again. But no, everything was perfect in there. It was almost like it hadn’t even been touched, like Michael hadn’t been there. Even the kids bag was shoved under the bed, out of sight. The blankets were folded neatly. Everything was just put back in place. 

As breakfast was being made, everyone woke up at their own pace. Ryan loved when Geoff woke up before him, because he didn’t have to make breakfast. It was the rule, whoever woke up first made the food. Ray was always the last one to wake up. Gavin was usually either before or after Geoff, never last unless he was sick. 

Ryan smiled when he saw Michael’s note, and as everyone slowly made it down the stairs, they began to eat at their own paces. “Where’s Michael?” Gavin asked.

“He went job hunting.” Ryan replied.

“Oh,” Gavin paused, taking a bite. “When will he be back? I thought we were going to bring him to work with us today.” 

“Jesus, Gavin, he’s not an animal,” Ray chuckled, “It’s not like, bring your Michael to work day today, is it?” 

Gavin pouted, “Well no, but you said at dinner last night--”

“I said one day, not today,” Ryan corrected, leaning down and kissing Gavin softly. “Don’t worry, he said he’d be here tonight.” 

The day went by slow, really, for both parties.

Michael got kind of lucky. He wrote down Burnie’s number for how to contact him. He was probably going to work as a dishboy for a diner, getting minimum wage. 

He could probably pay for a one bedroom one bath apartment. He didn’t need anything too pricey. He wanted things, sure, but he didn’t mind. 

Geoff spent the day at a war with himself before deciding to just trust Michael for now, and kill him later if he proved he wasn’t worth it. It was easier than feeling threatened or worried by the younger male. He was just a kid, after all. He just needed some help.

Geoff told Ryan to drive the boys home, and he borrowed Burnie’s car because he was working on a project late. He went to a clothing shop, and bought Michael some new clothes. He got him lots of things, new shirts, jeans, shoes, socks, underwear. He guessed on his size, but he had Ryan check the tags on his stuff at home and call him when he found out. Everything was about what Michael was, and they could take anything that didn’t fit him back.

Geoff actually felt pretty good about it. He really couldn’t wait to see Michael’s face, because he was one hundred percent sure nobody had ever done anything this nice for him before. He knew because he’d been there. 

Michael came back around nine, because he didn’t want to disturb anyone by rolling in late. He hadn’t eaten dinner, afraid to spend too much money since he was saving, but he had a nice lunch. He kind of wandered around, took mental notes of places that needed help. He called Burnie on a payphone and told him that he’d put his number down as how to get into contact with him, but Burnie said that was dumb because he was living with Geoff. 

Michael really didn’t want to ask Geoff if he could use their phone number. He would have to buy his own phone. 

He opened the door to the house quietly, going inside slowly. He jumped when he heard laughter coming from the living room, and he poked his head inside, looking at them all. They were all playing some game together, laughing every time Gavin made a dumb mistake and died. He watched them for a while, observing. It was interesting. All the relationships Michael had been exposed to had been unhappy ones. Even Phil and his wife’s relationship was rocky.

When Jack spotted him, and he quickly disappeared, turning and walking silently back to his room. 

The sight that he was met with wasn’t what he was expecting. There were tons of clothes, all over the bed. He blinked a few times, walking back to the other room, “G-Geoff?” He hesitantly asked out, hating himself for stuttering. 

He successfully caught Geoff’s attention, plus everyone else’s, “Yeah?” 

“Um,” He started, swallowing. “What would you like me to do with all those clothes? I mean, if they need to be in there, I can sleep on the floor, but I don’t mind putting them in your room if you want me to mo--”

“No, they’re for you, Michael.” Geoff turned his attention back to the game. Nobody seemed surprised by it. 

Michael was confused, “I don’t… I don’t understand.” He mumbled, feeling stupid.

“I bought them for you. It’s a gift.” Michael’s brain was short-circuiting. 

“I… I still don’t understand.” He said quietly. 

“Michael, those clothes belong to you, because I bought them for you.” Geoff said again, looking back at him. “Listen, kid, you didn’t have any clothes that were good. I can’t believe you let people interview you with a fucking hole in your shirt. Completely unprofessional; you won’t get a job anywhere in that.” Geoff told him.

He looked down at the clothes he was wearing and he felt like absolute shit. “I… Someone said they’d call me.” He told Geoff softly in response. Damn, he felt deflated. Of course nobody would hire him like this. He looked like a homeless person. Fuck. He was freaking out, running a hand through his hair. What if they just told Michael he was going to get a call because they felt bad for him? Fuck. He looked disgusting. He felt so stupid.

Geoff was pretty sure this was the quietest Michael had been. He realized it was because he was embarrassed, but it took him a second to figure it out. He shook his head, “I doubt they will, but it’s okay. Go try them on, tell me what fits and doesn’t and everything that doesn’t, I’ll take back and exchange it.”

Michael narrowed his eyes, looking down at his clothes. They weren’t horrible, even if there was a hole. “They… They told me I had a good shot, so I’m sure I got it.” He said, a little frustrated. “Besides, it’s not about clothes, it’s about personality.” He didn’t know who he was trying to convince.

“I’m sure you were top Michael! You probably got the job.” Gavin pitched in, giving Michael a sure smile. 

Michael nodded, “Yeah,” He said, unbelieving. He walked to his room, then reminded himself it wasn’t his room. He decided to think of it that way by default, but he couldn’t wait to leave. Nobody fucking wanted him here. Not even Ryan. He could just go stay with Burnie.

Well, not really. But it was a nice thought. 

He looked at all the clothes on his bed, and he walked up to them like they were made with pure gold. Michael ran his eyes over them, picking up a shirt and rubbing the fabric between his fingers. They were so nice. 

He felt like he could cry. He couldn’t wear these. He was going to ruin them. He folded them all up neatly, looking at the price tag. They were all so fucking expensive. How did Geoff even have money to afford a 30 dollar shirt? And there were tons. He had to wear them. He couldn’t let that money go to waste. He did love them a lot. More than love. Michael would have married those clothes. 

He walked out of his room, with all the money he’d brought with him from Jersey. He walked up to Geoff, and he gave him all of it. “I don’t know how to repay you. Sorry, this is all I really have. I would have more, but I um… I had lunch, but I’ll pay you back the rest when I get my job.”

Geoff was fucking confused. When did he get this kids money in his hand? And why? “No, fuck that, keep your money.” Geoff mumbled, standing up. “Did you try them on?” He asked.

“No,” Michael said, pushing the money away. “Keep it, please. I didn’t try them on because I’m dirty. I was wondering if I could use one of your showers. I know there’s a hose out back though if you don’t want the slum dirtying up your nice shower.” Michael chuckled, looking away from Geoff. He was still so embarrassed. The kid had barely any self esteem. 

“Fuck you, if I didn’t want you using things here, I would have told you you couldn’t touch anything.” Geoff pointed out, pushing Michael softly so he started walking towards the hallway. 

“No, you kind of told me that a different way, didn’t you?” He remarked, raising an eyebrow, but Geoff couldn’t really see it. Michael needed a haircut. He hadn’t ever gotten it cut by a real professional. He usually just used scissors. 

“Michael, I’m going to take a chance and fucking trust you, but you’ve gotta trust me too, man,” Geoff looked at him, meeting eyes. “But me fucking trusting you means that you’re not allowed to eat Ray. You fucking look like you’re about to devour him.” Geoff chuckled.

“What?” Michael smiled, “He’s fucking cute. I can’t even look?” 

“No! He’s not a fucking piece of meat. He’s mine anyways, you dick,” Geoff shook his head, walking him down the hall. “This is where the towels are. Shouldn’t be hard to remember. It’s right by the bathroom.” 

Michael grabbed one and looked at Geoff, “Is it nice?” 

Geoff raised his eyebrows, “Is what nice? The towels?” 

Michael grinned, “No, like, living in this nice house and having a fucking good job that pays well. And getting to have sex with lots of fucking pretty people all the time, and… I could go on and on. Owning a towel with no holes in it.” 

Geoff smiled, and for a moment, he realized Michael was jealous of him. _Of course he was, the poor kid. He’s probably never been in a house this nice._ “Well, yeah. I mean, it’s fucking amazing here. I’m surrounded by people I love all day.” He shrugged.

Michael was so jealous he could scream. “That sounds… Pretty amazing, I agree.” He smiled, grabbing the towel. “Thanks for showing me where it was.” He changed the topic back, and Geoff let him shower, walking back to his boys.

He washed himself up, then got out and looked at his chest in the mirror. He felt good. He looked so nice, for once. He looked at himself, his eyes catching on the long scar going from the middle of his lower stomach to the middle of his chest. He shuffled out of the bathroom, catching Geoff’s eyes halfway to his room. Actually, everyone was sitting in the kitchen at the bar, so they all got an eye of what Michael looked like in a towel. 

Ray could have creamed his pants. 

Gavin grinned, “Ooo, boi!” He laughed, and Michael grinned and shook his head.

“If you keep making that stupid face, it’ll get stuck like that,” He mumbled as he walked past them to his room.

“Wha,” Gavin began, looking in Michael’s direction, “I’m not making any face.” 

“Oh, guess it’s just like that,” Michael said with a shrug, closing the door. Michael could hear Geoff from in there laughing.

“Get fucking wrecked,” He heard Ray yell, which made him chuckle.

He tried on all the clothes, folding up them all afterwards. He put on some pajama bottoms that Geoff had got him, slipping on a shirt with their logo on it. 

He walked out of his room, looking to find them all, but nobody was there. He frowned, looking around. Ray was in the kitchen, but all the other lights were off. 

“Sorry about them going to bed, it’s an early morning tomorrow,” Ray informed quietly, eyeing Michael up a little bit. “So you’re from Jersey, right?” 

Michael nodded in responce, “New Jersey, yeah.”

“Oh cool, I’m from New York.” 

“Oh, shit, really? Upstate?”

“Queens.” 

Michael eyed up Ray for a moment, “You don’t sound like you’re from Queens.”

“Eh, trust me. If you stay down here, you’re not going to keep that accent for long. You’ll have a bit of it, but that’ll be it.” Ray shrugged.

Michael watched him, leaning against the counter. “So you all fuck and work in the same place. In the same office, even. How does that work? If I was with you, I wouldn’t be able to keep off of you.” He laughed softly, loving the way that Ray’s cheeks lit up.

“It’s hard sometimes. Once I gave Ryan a lap dance and we had to go home early. Geoff said that it wouldn’t be office appropriate if we had sex.” 

He laughed along with Ray, looking into his eyes. “You’re so lucky, dude,” He said softly.

Ray smiled, a little sad, “Don’t worry, Michael. You’re going to find a really good job, then you’ll find a really good person, and you’re going to be really happy.” 

Michael shook his head with a smile, “Hah, yeah, I wish. I think Geoff would do anything to send me back up,” He sighed.

Ray shook his head, “Geoff wouldn’t buy you all those nice clothes if he didn’t think you were going to do good things down here. I don’t think you two are that different. You just have to get to know him, Michael. He’s tough and he cares about us a lot. He just doesn’t want you to take advantage of us, or like tread on his territory or whatever. You can’t fuck me, Michael.” Ray smirked. 

Michael grinned, “Does that mean we could at least make out?” 

“No.”

Michael threw his hands up and nodded, “Alright, alright. No making out, no fucking. Ass grabbing?” 

Ray rolled his eyes and chuckled, “Maybe if you accidentally run into me, then it’s allowed. But only when it’s accidental!” 

Michael let out an over exaggerated sigh, “Fine,” He said, dragging out the i. 

Ray laughed, then grabbed Michael’s hand. “Come on, we’re going to play some games. I’ll see if I can stay home tomorrow and show you around Austin.” 

“Ray, no, I need to search for jobs.” Michael frowned.

“Didn’t you just say that one said they’d call you back?”

“Well, yeah, but--”

“No buts then. Come on, did you get to try out GTA V?” Ray asked, and Michael gaped.

“No, that just came out a few months ago.” He said.

“We got it _before_ it came out,” Ray grinned, handing Michael a remote.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I totally forgot about this but I finished it back in September of 2016. So like, here's the rest but it's not edited. Sucks to suck sorry guys (i suck)

Michael got fucking loud when he was getting chased by the cops. “Fuck, fuck, no, no, fucking Ray help!” He yelled, and Ray laughed. Somewhere inside of him, Ray wondered if that reigned true to real life as well. 

“Be quiet, you fuck. You’re going to wake up everyone in the house!” Ray chuckled.

“Fucking, help me, ah fuck! I’m fucking dead.” Michael grinned, looking at Ray and shaking his head. It was fucking gold, Ray thought, laughing hard at the boy.

 

Ray did end up staying home the next day, after begging Geoff in the morning and waking him up with a nice blowjob.

Ray almost always got what he wanted. He had his magic, and Geoff wasn’t one to complain when it was used on himself. 

“Michael,” Ray shook the boy gently, after watching him sleep for a while. He was so attracted to Michael. “Wake up loser, we’re shopping.” 

Michael cracked his eyes open and groaned, reaching out and grabbing around Ray’s waist, lifting him down and pulling him under the comforter. “Later,” He whined lowly in Ray’s ear, his voice thick with sleep. Fuck, I’m going to cum in these pants. Like a 13 year old. 

“Let go of me you fuck, and get up,” Ray said, squirming out of the others grip.

Michael whined, “But, Ray,”

“No buts. I’m going to show you around and you’re going to enjoy it.”

Michael let out a dramatic sigh, standing and shuffling to grab some clothes, then beginning to change, making sure to lock eyes with Ray. “You couldn’t wait for me to leave first?”

Michael grinned, “I didn’t think you’d be one to complain. I mean, you did get a hard on just from me pulling you into my bed, Ray,” Michael teased. He could feel the heat off Ray’s face from where he was standing.

About ten minutes, a quick wank, and a coffee later, the pair were all ready to go.

“Are we going to get all drunk and have to have Geoff come get us?” Michael grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at Ray as they began to walk. 

“Fuck no. You’re on probation, and I don’t drink anyways.” Ray pointed out, shoving Michael with no hesitation.

Michael laughed, “That’s cool. I guess you’ve got a point. Wouldn’t want boss man coming after me anyways. I might not have such strong control if I’m drunk.” 

Ray grinned, “What, and you’ve got so much control now?”

“The fuck are you talking about, I’ve got tons of control! I haven’t tried to grab your ass once.”

“Not yet, at least.” Michael laughed, nodding. Kid had a point.

Ray showed him all of the best places. He showed him where he used to work, what shops were the cheapest, the best for buying clothes, what restaurants were good. Any questions Michael could’ve asked, Ray answered.

They had lunch at a nice burger place. Michael smirked about halfway through a conversation Ray was having about the company and what would happen if Michael got hired there. 

“What?” Ray smiled a little, looking into Michael’s eyes.

“Nothing. I just think that this is probably the best date I’ve ever been on,” Michael shrugged, taking a bite.

“Michael, this isn’t--”

“Sh. Let me pretend for a few minutes. I’m not about to be taken back to Jersey for stepping a toe out of line, I’m just on a date with a beautiful boy. Who I wouldn’t be opposed to bring into the bathroom of this nice joint and fucking,” He chuckled. 

Ray let him pretend, and declined politely when Michael asked him if he wanted to go to the bathroom with him. He did take a minute to think about it though, he really did.

When they started walking again, Ray grabbed his hand. 

When they called Geoff from a payphone to tell him they were lost and needed him to come pick them up, they were still holding hands. Geoff glared a little, but he ignored the nervous feeling gnawing at his stomach. He was sure the kid didn’t get affection a lot, and having random sex was different from having a deep connection with someone. A little hand holding wasn’t that bad. Gavin held hands with everyone. It didn’t mean anything.

This one time, Geoff let it slip. He looked away when Ray kissed Michael’s cheek, but he noticed when he looked back that Michael was staring at him in the rearview mirror, guilty. 

When they got home, Burnie called and said that the man who was looking for a job actually would hire Michael. Geoff didn’t think he’d seen the kid look so excited. Ray kissing his cheek was a close second though.

It was the first time in a long time he’d seen Ray so bummed. Michael could tell the other was trying to keep a straight face, trying to keep an upbeat attitude. Hell, he even pulled Geoff to the side later that night and asked him if it was the right thing to do.

“I don’t want to disappoint Ray.” He admitted quietly. 

Geoff gave him a lopsided smile, “Don’t worry, Ray’s a big boy. He’s happy for you. He knows you have to get a job.”  
Sure, it reassured Michael. He still felt bad about it. 

From then on, it was almost a constant 24 hour day for Michael. He’d wake up at five, go to work, help prepare the meals, start serving and cleaning tables, getting tips where he could. He’d laugh and talk to customers, tell them about where he was from, make up a bullshit story about how him and his boyfriend Ray were living together and they had a dog and their neighbors were friendly and he had a nice car and everything. The boys barely saw him, and even though they got less time with Michael, they got closer. Especially Gavin and Michael. It went from, “Wow, you have a fucking weird accent and a big nose,” to, “Don’t fuck with my boi!” They were together every second they could be, and constantly flirting, fighting, or creating problems for everyone else. Michael learned all the little quirks of each one of the men. He learned that Ray went to bed last nightly, and Michael spent most of his remaining energy from the day to stay up with the cute kid. He learned that Gavin had a weak stomach and he had a big gag reflex, though he found that out one night when the kid’s fork hit the back of his mouth, not getting a blowjob from him, sadly. He learned that Jack had the biggest heart out there, and that he had a big conversation with Geoff the night he came to Austin about how Michael deserved a chance, and it was probably the only reason Michael was accepted by Geoff. He learned that Ryan was just a walking book, with weird fucking knowledge and a kind of hot, kind of murderer personality that made Michael quite attracted to him. He got off to all of them a lot. Almost every morning in the shower. 

He learned that he was in love with Geoff, because not only was he giving him a chance, but he was giving him dinner every night. He realized slowly the man would do anything for Michael, and anything for any one of his boys. Michael had a nightmare one night. True screams of terror woke everyone else up, and Geoff was the one who got him to calm down, and made everyone leave when Michael broke down. He held him and comforted him, and Michael fell asleep being held for the first time in his life.

They all realized how much they enjoyed Michael there. It wasn’t an overnight thing of course, but Michael had been there for a whole month now, working tables until late hours, coming home and eating when they all waited up for him. They waited to begin movies, and on the one day that Michael had off, they all piled together and played video games. Burnie came around and kept up his eye on Michael, and Michael did all of the meetings and check ins with his PO, even flying out there to go see him for a day then coming home that night.

He learned how to call Geoff’s house his home, which was more than he could say for any other place he’d ever been. 

 

It was the second time he’d gotten a paycheck from his job, and he was so excited to go home. It was eleven, and he’d been working really hard. He’d been waiting for this day to arrive for so long, after weeks of balancing his money carefully, paying Geoff back when he could, and counting each penny he got on his tips, he was ecstatic. He had enough.

His hands shook a little as he fumbled with the keys, and he walked in with a grin. Nobody was up, which was a little surprising. Usually they waited, but some nights they left a note saying it was an early morning. Michael had to hold himself back from running upstairs and telling them all that this was it. He’d made enough money. He didn’t have to bother them anymore with his company, he could get his own place. 

He wasn’t going to wake them up though, especially when they’d had such a long day. It was Friday after all, and their jobs had them in the office everyday for hours. Tomorrow must be a full day, if they all went to bed at eleven. 

Michael walked quietly and quickly to his room, smiling a little less as he began to think about his plan. He wasn’t going to be here anymore. It was the goal the whole time. Honestly, the boys probably wanted him gone, but Michael was torn up about it. Nobody had cared for him this much before, even if it was all fake to make Michael and Burnie feel better. But he really felt like he was friends with everyone. He felt like he fit in with this crowd. He’d never felt like that in his life, not once. 

He took a long shower. He remembered showering in freezing water, on multiple occasions, because he wasn’t able to pay his water bill. He didn’t have to worry about that here. He also was liked here, was accepted. Nobody looked at him strange, nobody pulled out a knife on him. Nobody was going to beat the shit out of him for messing up. 

He got dressed, and he just looked around the lower half of the house. He looked at all of the pictures of the boys, and he looked at the kitchen. He was overwhelmingly lonely when he lived on his own, back in his shitty apartment in Jersey. He almost cried. He kind of wanted someone to beat the shit out of him. He didn’t want to get his own apartment. He just wanted to be with these fucking boys, who would probably forget he was even around in a couple months.

But really, he just wanted someone to be there. And he had that. He had five people there. They were upstairs, waiting for him to crawl into their bed one night. Hell, he almost got the balls to do it, but then he second guessed himself. 

It was perfect when Geoff came down. He saw the boy, sitting at the kitchen counter in his pajamas, alone. Geoff couldn’t sleep. “I’m surprised you’re up. Usually we keep you up. I know we’re slowly killing you, but I think we all just want to get the most of you when we’re both home. It’s hard when we work different jobs.” Geoff chuckled, which made Michael smile.

“Nah, I couldn’t sleep. I love hanging out with you guys when I get home. I was actually really excited to talk to you,” He said, which made Geoff feel slightly guilty about making everyone go to bed early for their shoot tomorrow. Michael continued, “I just got enough money tonight,” He said with a grin.

“Enough money?” Geoff raised an eyebrow, a small smile on his lips. Was Michael planning to buy something? 

“Well to get my own apartment.” Michael grinned, “I can just… I can get out of your hair. I think I’ve paid you back for everything, but I can never pay you back all the time you’ve dealt with my shit. So I’m sorry, but at least now I can get out of your way. I actually know where I’m going to go too, I know this little apartment on the other side of town that’s interested in a renter,” Michael yammered a little, because he was nervous. He was nervous that Geoff was going to tell him to leave as soon as he could, honestly. He was nervous Geoff would be like, ‘fucking finally.’ The thought of him reacting like that made him want to cry. But honestly, he was most nervous about Geoff asking him to stay, because he honestly thought that he wouldn’t mean it. 

Geoff looked taken aback. “Michael,” His voice was soft, but Michael shook his head, smiling a little.

“You don’t need to give me the whole, ‘We want you here, you don’t have to leave as soon as possible’ speech. I know I’m a fucking handful and I wouldn’t want some convict living in my house, with my boys, who he obvious flirts with.” Michael said, crossing his arms and shrugging. “Geoff, you don’t have to pretend to like me. You’re not hurting my feelings,” He said with a small smile, brushing it off. But I want to stay, please. I’ll sleep outside. “I’m a big boy, I can handle the truth. I know I’m a big piece of shit, and I know I need to get the fuck out of your lives. Which is exactly what I’m doing.”

“Michael, Michael, no,” Geoff’s voice was a little louder, to match the younger boy's tone, which had gotten shakier as he went on. “We don’t want you to leave,” Geoff stated. “We don’t give a shit that you’re a convict, we care about you Michael.” His tone was soft again. Michael didn’t know what to do, so he reacted how he normally did when people told him that they cared about him.

He pushes them away, because he was just going to disappoint Geoff. Disappoint all of his boys. All of the people he was slowly falling in love with. All the people he wanted to be with

“Bullshit,” Michael responded sharply after moments of silence. “Sure, you fucking let me stay at your house, and you bought me clothes. I paid you back for food, clothes a little, and I’ll keep paying you when I can. But you don’t have to lie, I’m not a fucking idiot. You don’t want me here.”

Geoff was getting frustrated the more Michael was raising his voice. “Goddamnit, Michael. Why can’t you fucking accept that I care about you? Why can’t you get it through your fucking head? We all care about you. Nobody’s been pushing you to leave. You’re apart of us, apart of this house now, you can’t just leave.” We’ve worked so hard trying to get you to see that. Trying to make you happy. 

Michael just seemed to get angrier the sadder he got, and he did almost cry, “I think that’s the biggest line of bullshit I’ve ever fucking heard!” He was laughing. “You’re apart of us? Fuck that. You fucking bring me into your grand house, show me how sweet and caring you all are, make me feel all nice and welcome, like I’m actually in the fucking relationship, or that you actually care about me, then you guys fucking go to your own room for the night! You all kiss each other goodnight, but not me. I don’t get a goodnight kiss, or goodnight sex, or fucking anything. And you know why?” Michael yelled, glad to actually get it off his chest. “Like, fuck, Geoff,” He scoffed. “I’m not apart of anything. I’m apart of the ‘let’s take care of Michael until he can get an apartment’ handout that’s been sitting in your pocket from the day I landed in Austin,” He pushed Geoff, realizing momentarily he’d gotten closer when he was talking. 

“Geoff?” Michael heard Gavin’s voice quietly, and he knew they had an audience now. 

“Fucking hell, Michael! Do you not think we don’t care about you? Do you not realize how hard it is not just fucking kissing you when you come home and you’re all stressed out from working that shit job? Do you not realize how hard we’re trying to convince fucking Gus and Matt to give you a chance? We literally talk to Matt every single fucking goddamn day, and you think we don’t fucking care?” Geoff pushed Michael back, and for a moment, Michael panicked. He couldn’t fight Geoff, but he couldn’t handle Geoff hitting him either. It would honestly break him. “The absolute worse part about you not getting to actually be with us is seeing your sad ass idiotic expression because you think you can’t just join the fuck in! We want you to be with us, Michael!”

“You can’t fucking expect me to believe that. You’re literally in a relationship with fucking five people, you have to know that communication is the biggest deal in the whole fucking world. If you really wanted to do all that shit with me, you wouldn’t have to be fucking telling me now. You don’t have to lie to try and make me feel better! I know nobody fucking cares about me. You’re making it worse!” Michael threw his hands up and took a step away from Geoff. 

“We were fucking waiting to make sure you liked all of us! It’s not like you could just be together with Gavin and Ray, we’re a fucking package deal,” Geoff screamed, and Michael was pretty sure he had enough. “Listen, you brat, if you fucking want to go and have an apartment off by yourself and be lonely and not have anyone fucking being there for you, be my fucking guest, pack your shit and go. But you have to tell me you don’t care about any one of us, because I will fucking fight with you until you’re blue in the face from screaming if you don’t,” Geoff growled.

Michael shrunk as he was faced with the problem, but he stood confident on the outside. He could hear Gavin sniffling, but that was all. There was ringing in his ears, and he looked into Geoff’s eyes and lied, “I don’t care about any of you.” He spat out, and he turned on his heel quickly, because he knew Geoff’s face wouldn’t be full of rage anymore. He’d look destroyed, disappointed, betrayed. All emotions Michael couldn’t handle

Michael slammed his bedroom door behind him, and he packed his shit. He packed what he could in the tiny bag he’d came with. He grabbed his shoes, and left the key he was given. He left, he didn’t even use the fucking phone to call Burnie to ask if he could pick him up. He met eyes with Ray on the way out. He tried to talk to Michael, but Michael just walked out before he could say a word. 

They don’t care about you. They don’t care. Michael kept repeating it in his head, but he knew he made a mistake. 

“Why the fuck did I do that?” He whispered to himself as he walked to Burnie’s.  
I’m a fucking idiot, that’s why. 

 

“He’s just scared,” Ray whispered to Gavin. The boy was crying silent tears into his shirt, sniffling and making a big mess. Ray tried to reassure him. “He’ll be back guys, he’s not that stupid. He’s just scared.” But Ray didn’t even know if he believed the words himself.

 

When Michael got to Burnie’s, he was crying. He didn’t want to go inside, so he curled up on the porch and slept out there. It wasn’t much different from when he was a teenager. His parents said if he wasn’t home by ten, they’d lock the door, and Michael couldn’t come inside after curfew. So he slept outside a lot of nights. 

In the morning, he was up and ready to go. He didn’t know what time it was, but he knew that he usually woke up right when the sun started rising. He changed out on the porch, then went to work.

He called Burnie first thing when he got to work, and he got his ass reamed, but it was whatever. He got off for half the day and ended up getting that apartment. He had to pay one hundred extra, but Michael didn’t care. It was on the shit side of town, and he had Burnie come around to give him disapproving looks throughout most of the tour. Burnie only went home after Michael reassured him that he was fine a million times.

He only talked to Burnie and the customers that attempted to make small talk with him at work for two weeks. He went home each night and dreaded it. One night, some guy stole his wallet and beat him up, and it took everything for Michael not to just hit him back.

Anything could send him home, so he went back to his apartment without any money, cried for a while after cleaning himself up, and got his ass up the next day and went to work.

Ray decided to go see Michael at work, so he couldn’t avoid him. It was an alright place, not really the best restaurant to work for, but it was better than most. Michael was giving out some drinks to some customers, and he almost dropped them when he saw Ray.

Ray looked pissed, and Michael didn’t want to even talk to him. He just wanted to go to his shitty apartment and sleep. “I hope you realize how much you fucked with everyone,” It already made his heart ache.

“Mmh,” Michael hummed back his response, shaking his head, “You don’t have to come tell me what a dick I am and what a mistake I’ve made. I already fucking know.”

Ray was fuming. “Why don’t you fucking come home?” 

Michael frowned, “That’s your home, not mine.” 

Ray slapped his chest, and Michael barely flinched. “Bullshit.” 

Michael sighed, “Would you believe me if I said I didn’t have the balls to go and face Geoff?” He smiled softly. 

Ray frowned, “I just… Fucking, just because nobody else has ever loved you before doesn’t mean we won’t. You think I don’t know what it’s like to be alone? My parents were both drug addicts. I would fucking come home every day from school, do my homework, and pour myself into video games because if I didn’t, I’d be stuck in the middle of either their deals, their arguing, or some other shit. Fucking Geoff, his dad, he did some fucked up shit. Not only did he beat that man, but he would come into his room every week, and he’d do… Awful things to him. You don’t see us fucking shutting out everyone who cares about us. No. We bring everyone who cares about us close, because that’s how you fucking have a good life Michael. You don’t become happy or wealthy or find people who care about you overnight, you have to fucking trust people to get all that shit.” Ray was ranting at him.

He didn’t even know what to say. There was a pause. “Is it too late to fix it?” He asked Ray quietly. Ray scoffed.

“No, you jackass. Guess what?” 

Michael met eyes with him, “What?”

“We finally fucking convinced Matt to give you an interview. You’re going to be fucking screaming at the top of your lungs and playing dumb games. People love that shit for some reason, and as you’ve demonstrated, you’re good at yelling. They’re most definitely going to give you a chance.” Ray chuckled. 

Michael frowned a little, “Ray, I--”

“Stop.” Ray cut him off, opening his arms. “Just give me a hug and quit this fucking job. We’re going to your apartment and getting your shit. Where’d you get that busted eye?” 

Michael smiled, “I let some douchebag beat me up. I knew if I fought back, I’d be straight on the flight back to Jersey. I knew if that happened, I’d have to talk to you guys before I left.” He chuckled. 

“You’re a real fucking loser.”

Michael grinned, grabbing Ray’s ass, “I know.”

Ray pretty much puked when he saw Michael’s apartment. It was so tiny, it could be a fucking closet. He didn’t like the way that Michael wrapped his arm around him and glared at everyone who even looked at Ray. Michael didn’t want Ray getting hurt. 

They packed up all his shit, and Michael gave the landlord his whole check to make up for the lease he took out. It was supposed to last until next year. 

Ray and Michael walked home. “You realize we’re going to ask you to be with us, right?” 

Michael blinked a few times and swallowed, “You guys still want me?” 

Ray scoffed, “Only because you look so nice in a towel.” He joked, smiling. “Of course we do, idiot.” 

It was the best news that Michael had heard in the past year. 

 

He unpacked his shit when he got home. Real home. Not some one bedroom apartment. Then Ray yelled at him a little and told him he was dumb, and that he wasn’t putting it in his bedroom. 

So, he moved it all upstairs. 

When the rest of the boys came home, Michael was a mess. He was pacing around and running hands through his hair and looking at himself in the mirror. He got really sick too, and he just kept thinking that the first thing Geoff was going to do was hit him right in the good eye. 

That wasn’t what happened though. Michael turned to face the door when it opened, and right there, Geoff was standing, the rest of the boys behind him.   
Gavin was the first to actually do something. He ran forward and grabbed Michael tightly, then just said, “It’s real nice to see you, boi. Are you back for good?”   
Michael smiled softly, “Do you want me back for good?” He asked, meeting eyes with Geoff over Gavin’s shoulder. 

He got a nod of approval. Jack gave him a hug, and so did Ryan, but Ray just let everyone else have their moment with a grin on his lips. “I don’t get a hug?” Geoff raised an eyebrow.

Michael frowned, “Aren’t you mad at me?” He asked softly. 

Geoff rolled his eyes, “I can’t be mad. You’re right where I want you to be.” He stated, opening his arms. 

Michael just gripped onto the man tightly, and he took in a deep breath of what Geoff smelled like. “Aw, why didn’t I get a hug like that?” Gavin pouted. Michael just hugged Geoff tighter. 

“I’m sorry.” Michael whispered to Geoff softly. 

“It’s fine, you asshole,” Geoff replied, grinning. “I get to kiss him first!” Geoff announced, and they all yelled back in response, but it didn’t stop Geoff from grabbing the younger kids jaw, leaning in, and laying it on him. 

It was followed up by four more kisses, each one just as meaningful as the last.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to give feedback B)


End file.
